Dreaming Black Trans Futures: Danez Smith (Poet) and Dean Steed (SNaP Co)

The Brew & Forge Lecture Series poets and political organizers in conversation to exchange perspectives and alchemize collective dreaming. The two speakers present on their work, followed by a panel in which they discuss the intersecting roles of activism and the arts in envisioning the future of social justice movements.

 

The Fall 2020 BFLS will be a virtual reading, presentation, and panel discussion on the topic of Black trans liberation, with poet Danez Smith and the Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative, represented by Communications Lead Dean Steed.

 

How to Watch:

• Join via Zoom webinar at this link. Event is free and open to the public, and live captioning will be provided.

 

About the Speakers:

Danez Smith is a Black, Queer, Poz writer and performer from St. Paul, MN. Danez is the author of three books: Homie (Graywolf Press, 2020), which received praise from the New York Times and Publishers Weekly; Don’t Call Us Dead (Graywolf Press, 2017), winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award, and a finalist for the National Book Award; and [insert] boy (YesYes Books, 2014), winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. Danez is a member of the Dark Noise Collective and is a co-host of the podcast VS with Franny Choi.

Dean Steed is the Communications Lead for the Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative, a Black, trans-led, broad-based collaborative to restore an Atlanta where every person has the opportunity to grow and thrive without facing unfair barriers, especially from the criminal legal system. On the heels of a historic, collaborative campaign to shut down and repurpose the Atlanta City Detention Center, SNaP Co is currently working on campaigns to decriminalize sex work in Georgia, operating the Taking Care of Our Own Fund to give direct support to trans people navigating personal emergencies,, and building a Black trans futurist framework for practical abolition as the way to liberation. Learn more at snap4freedom.org.

 

Sponsors:

The Brew and Forge Lecture Series is organized by Prof. Franny Choi (English, fc3@williams.edu). “Dreaming Black Trans Futures” is presented by the Williams College English Department, with support from cosponsors: Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Africana Studies, American Studies, Lecture Committee and the W. Ford Schumann ’50 Program in Democratic Studies

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